On the occasion of the Routes des Blés organized during the month of June 2021, Grands Moulins de Paris took some of its customers - artisan bakers, key accounts, industrialists and supermarket bakeries - to meet the farmers.
From fork to fork
A "privileged moment where people come to learn things and leave with projects in mind, all in a very friendly, bucolic setting, in the countryside"
Christophe Duchez, BA Sales Director.
This year, Grands Moulins de Paris organized sixteen Routes des Blés, including five on the territory of Vivesciathe cooperative group to which the brand belongs.
The aim of these meetings was to (re)discover the path of wheat up to its transformation into flour and then into bread by taking customers to the heart of the farms.
These days are " a way to understand how farmers work, and also to find out what customers need" , emphasizes Jérôme Massard, VIVESCIA farmer-cooperator, and "to give customers a more complete vision of our know-how and what we can offer them", adds Marcel Gibertadds Jérôme Massard, Director of the Nancy mill.
The exchanges between the different actors of the sector allowed to testify the diversity of the agricultures and to approach the agronomic challenges of tomorrow.
"The future lies in THE agricultures :
conventional, organic or even soil conservation."
Proximity at the heart of these meetings
Through these Routes des Blés, the objective was also to emphasize the proximity between customers, producers and mills. It is this proximity that allows Grands Moulins de Paris to adapt to the specific expectations of each customer and to promote a local approach in accordance with the commitments at the table.
Back in pictures
Mill of Reims
Three Routes des Nlés were organized near the mill of Reims.
The first day took place in the company of representatives of the MENISSEZ group, one of the leaders in bread-making in France and owner of the Louise franchise which has 130 stores.
The second day was dedicated to welcoming artisan bakers and was marked by the presence of Christoph Büren, President of the cooperative and Jean-Luc Jonet, Director of VIVESCIA Agriculture.
The last day, which took place at a NOVAGRAIN farmer-cooperator's, allowed us to welcome artisan bakers from the North East and to present them the varieties of wheat, the production cycle, the technicality of the cereal profession as well as the agricultural equipment.
Mill of Brienne
At the Brienne mill, special meetings were organized with VIVESCIA farmers for the AGROMOUSQUETAIRES group and the LANDEMAINE company.
Nancy Mill
Near the Nancy mill, two Routes des Blés were organized with the EMC2 cooperative belonging to the TERIALIS cooperative union. One day was dedicated to the POULAILLON bakery, inventor of the Moricette®, and another one gathered about fifteen bakers of the region.
A third day was organized with VIVESCIA in order to present the offer of flours to the industrialist PURATOS, specialized in ingredients for bakers, pastry cooks and chocolate makers.
Moulin of Paris-Gennevilliers
Near our mill in Gennevilliers, three Routes des Blés took place during the month of June.
Two days were spent presenting to some fifteen artisan bakers the different farming approaches with a focus on organic and on some references such as the Label Rouge and CRC Platinumof the Grand Siècle Bio and sourdoughs in particular.
Another day organized in collaboration with the cooperative Terres Bocage Gâtinais (TBG) made it possible to make discover the new products as the Berrouga to the supermarket chain CORA.
Mill of Verneuil
Organized in partnership with the PUISEAUX Cooperative, this day was dedicated to accompanying DOMINO'S PIZZA in its reflexion of setting up a wheat chain. For this purpose, an overview of the chain approaches was presented to the company.
Mill of Surgères
During the day, organized in collaboration with farmer-cooperators, specific subjects were discussed such as the choice of wheat varieties, nitrogen inputs, protection against diseases and cultivation techniques.
Mill of Bordeaux
Close to the mill in Bordeaux, Grands Moulins de Paris organized a Wheat Road with the farmers-cooperators of the TERRE ATLANTIQUE group. This day was dedicated to welcoming the major bakery account OPERA and the pastry manufacturer EUROPASTRY.
Mill of Marseille
The wheat production basins are geographically further away from the Marseille mill. It is therefore in Isère, with the OXYANE cooperative, that the Wheat Road was held. Our baker-craft customers were able to be in the heart of a farm to discover the farmers' approaches and the challenges of the CRC label in particular.
Involved actors
The success of these days,rich in exchanges and learning, we owe it to all those who participated in their organization.
A special thank you to the wheat buyers who put us in touch with the storage organizations, to the technical advisors who made the bread for each day, to the sales teams of the mills and to the marketing teams for the smooth running.
Thank you also to our partner cooperatives and to the farmer-cooperators who gave their time to welcome our customers and prospects and to help them discover the heart of the farms and the agricultural issues.
